Somalia’s parliament made several amendments to its interim constitution on Saturday, including lowering the age of majority from 18 to 15.
Until now, the law in Somalia considered a person under the age of 18 to be a child. The amended constitution states that the term child “refers to a person under the age of 15.”
By adopting the amendments, Somalia violated its obligations to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defines a child as a person under the age of 18. A day before the vote, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Africa director Laetitia Bader warned that the amendments seek to weaken constitutional protections for children, especially girls, putting them at greater risk of marriage and depriving them of protection from various forms of abuse.
Bader called on Somalia’s donors to dissuade lawmakers from passing the amendments by all means. Since 2014. The European Union and its member states have donated more than EUR 3.5 billion to Somalia.
In Somalia, an estimated 45% of girls marry before the age of 18 and 16% before the age of 15, ranking the country tenth in the world in the incidence of child marriage.
Worldwide, more than 250 million women alive today have been married off before the age of 15.
In most African countries, girls marry before the age of 18. According to the Girls Not Brides organization, the highest number of such marriages are in Niger, Ethiopia, Chad, Mali, Sudan and South Sudan, where there are cases of ten-year-old children being married off. In South Africa’s Lesotho, where women formally need parental consent to marry until the age of 21, 16% of girls marry before the age of 18.
By adopting the amendments, Somalia violated its obligations to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defines a child as a person under the age of 18. A day before the vote, Human Rights Watch’s deputy Africa director Laetitia Bader warned that the amendments seek to weaken constitutional protections for children, especially girls, putting them at greater risk of marriage and depriving them of protection from various forms of abuse.
Bader called on Somalia’s donors to dissuade lawmakers from passing the amendments by all means. Since 2014. The European Union and its member states have donated more than EUR 3.5 billion to Somalia.
Child marriages#Somalia's parliament is set to vote on constitutional amendments tomorrow which risk to put children at risk of harm. They shld reject any provisions weakening children's rights @hrw https://t.co/KoifsRxNkc
— Laetitia Bader (@LaetitiaBader) March 29, 2024
In Somalia, an estimated 45% of girls marry before the age of 18 and 16% before the age of 15, ranking the country tenth in the world in the incidence of child marriage.
Worldwide, more than 250 million women alive today have been married off before the age of 15.
In most African countries, girls marry before the age of 18. According to the Girls Not Brides organization, the highest number of such marriages are in Niger, Ethiopia, Chad, Mali, Sudan and South Sudan, where there are cases of ten-year-old children being married off. In South Africa’s Lesotho, where women formally need parental consent to marry until the age of 21, 16% of girls marry before the age of 18.
Saturday’s amendments to the Somali constitution, in addition to lowering the age of majority, primarily empowered the president, giving him the right to appoint and dismiss the prime minister.1/3 🧵#CSW68
— Girls Not Brides (@GirlsNotBrides) March 21, 2024
Our Senior Regional Engagement and Advocacy Officer, Fatou delivered a powerful intervention at the @UN_Women Commission on the Status of Women on behalf of Girls Not Brides, highlighting the urgent need to #EndChildMarriage worldwide. 👇 pic.twitter.com/lvPigOJSmU
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